A/N: And a big thanks to my reviewers! ;) Very much appreciated. So here's chapter 3, a long one. BTW, I still don't own the X- Men. I'm workin' on it.
Today both the junior and the senior classes of Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters were at one of their first excursions for months. Ever since the attack on the school last year, the consequential redeveloping had somewhat strained the school's budget. But now everything was nearly back to normal, and as if to accentuate that fact Professor Xavier had arranged for the students to visit a rocky outcropping south of the city, Tower Point, for their biology class.
Tower Point was an unusual formation of rocky cliffs, with spectacular views of the ocean, and bordered by dense shrubbery. Because of the good weather the attraction was fairly crowded with other visitors to the area. Whilst the junior students were abuzz with excitement, darting here and there, and the supervising teachers Ms Munroe and Mr Summers pointed out some interesting wildlife and stopped the occasional mischief maker, Rogue and Bobby stood apart from the group. Idle beside the picnic area, watching the tourists and students alike hovering around the viewing area, Rogue was the first to speak.
"You ok?" She glanced at Bobby, who had been silent for some time.
He gave her a half-hearted smile. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm just thinking about our last excursion. To the museum. Remember?"
She remembered. "John."
Bobby nodded, and looked down. "I miss that guy. I'd kill just to know what happened to him." Rogue wasn't sure what to say. She was surprised when John joined Magneto, of course, but something inside her had always seen it happening. Like his fiery mutation, John was too wild, too careless, almost arrogant, and never really seemed to fully fit in. Whether or not that was his own choice, was another matter. Rogue wrapped a gloved hand around Bobby's. Bobby grinned, turned his head towards hers, leaned closer...
A rumbling-like sound interrupted the two, and Rogue jerked her head away. It had come from one of the cliffs that overlooked Tower Point. Bobby, Rogue, along with all the other students, teachers and tourists, craned their necks to study the cliff. It was silent for a moment, when, with a thunder-like explosion, a cluster of rocks fell free and tumbled down the cliff. A few students jumped backwards, with the smaller rocks missing them by inches, but they couldn't be fast enough.
Bystanders screamed as the entire cliff began to cave in, rushing to get out of the path of flying rocks and debris. The thick and slow-moving crowd however, prevented escape for some. Rogue shrieked as she saw five people about to be buried in the barrage of rocks - three young children who'd been playing beneath the cliff, a teenage student from their class and their teacher Scott Summers! They couldn't possibly move in time!
Without warning, a blinding flash of light streaked through the panicked crowd and into the path of the rockslide. It was moving at such speed that at first Bobby mistook it for lightning, and thought for a moment that perhaps it had been generated by Storm. It hadn't. One by one Scott Summers, the teenager and the three children seemed to disappear in the flash, enveloped by the light, whilst the cliff continued to collapse. The crowd surged backwards, away from the crumbling cliff and the mysterious flash of light, but the individuals who had been directly in the path of the rockslide just seconds ago were now nowhere to be seen.
Finally the thunderous noise ceased. Rogue was shaking, and had her hands pressed to her mouth, urgently scanning the crowd that was now murmuring with incredulity. Bobby leapt forward suddenly, grabbing Rogue by the shoulder. "There he is!" he yelled, "Look!"
Following Bobby's finger Rogue saw the crowd parting to reveal Scott Summers, who looked shaken but unharmed. And beside him stood the student who had been beneath the cliff seconds ago. Before Rogue could voice her surprise that bolt of light reappeared, and one by one, the two of the three young children, who had also been beneath the collapsing cliff, emerged beside Scott, safe. Finally the flash of light came to a stop, and standing in its place was a teenage girl, perhaps seventeen, who was holding the third child in her arms.
The girl looked around nervously at the mass of people; she could feel the burning stares of the crowd. Messy cascades of long, reddish-brown hair fell across her face and shoulders, making her dark eyes barely visible through the locks. She looked wild, almost self-assured, but under the stares of a crowd that far outnumbered her, she had the appearance of a frightened cornered animal.
"It was her," Rogue said quietly and needlessly, "She was that light. Somehow, she saved them."
A woman charged through the crowd, and grabbed two of the younger children whom the girl had just rescued. Presumably their mother, the girl turned to her, still holding the child in her arms. "Here-" she offered.
The woman snatched the child from the girl's arms, giving the startled teenager an icy glare. "Mutant!" she accused her shrilly.
For a moment it seemed that everybody froze in disbelief. Then the throng of people gasped and muttered to each other, while Rogue and Bobby exchanged looks. This girl was not a member of their school, but perhaps very soon she would be. Scott turned to speak to her, but before he could utter a word, the crowd's mutterings grew louder as they surged forward.
"She's a mutant... Freak... Dangerous... Ought to be locked up." Regardless of the fact the mutant girl had just performed an act of heroism, the crowd was now treating her like a criminal. The girl looked around at them, and for a brief moment her face looked hurt. But soon that look was replaced with an angry scowl, and she turned on her heel and stomped through the crowd, alone. Once she reached the road leading away from Tower Point she began to sprint. Her legs moved faster and faster, until they produced that blinding light everyone had witnessed before. And she was gone.
Scott was pacing Professor Xavier's office, while Storm stood back against the far wall. They had just finished explaining the day's events and the Professor was silent, waiting for Scott to continue. "The girl's a hero," Scott was saying. "She saved five lives! She's also a mutant. You have to find her. You have to!"
The Professor finally spoke. "She moved as fast as light, you say?"
Storm nodded to confirm this. "The children thought I'd struck the cliff with lightning."
"Hmm, with that energy, it won't be hard to find her. That's if she's stationary. There may be difficulty tracing her movements; if they are as quick as you've said, they will also be erratic. And if she is a runaway, as you suggested, she will be on the move. It may be some time before I can establish her exact location."
Scott sighed, but agreed. "Alright. As long as you find her. She saved my life," he repeated, "I didn't get to thank her."